Nintendo's Wii Fit given government approval

Nintendo's Wii Fit is believed to be the first video game to be 'endorsed' by the Department of Health (DoH).

Reports claim that Nintendo's Wii Fit Plus, due to go on sale this Friday, has won permission to use the NHS' Change4Life logo in its advertising campaign.

A spokesperson for the DoH said: 'Active video games, where kids need to jump up and down or dance about as part of the game, are a great way to get kids moving more.

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'Little bits of activity like this throughout the day can easily add up to the 60 active minutes kids need. But our 'How Are The Kids' survey showed that at the moment our kids just aren't getting up and about enough.'

The Change4Life survey showed almost three quarters of children were not getting enough exercise outside of the workplace.

But according to the Daily Telegraph, the DoH will give its first-ever backing to the Wii Fit video game this week, in an 'unprecedented partnership between a video game and the government'.

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The Wii Fit Plus is due to go on sale in the UK on Friday and, according to Nintendo, will now feature over 60 exercises.

Video gaming website Gamzine.co.uk reckons that an endorsement by the DoH could really help to encourage fitness.

Gamezine editor Patrick Steen said: 'For a video game to earn the endorsement of NHS' Change4Life campaign is a great win for the industry, especially considering the poor handling of the issue of health and video games previously.

'A change of attitude from video games being responsible for an early death, to helping children and adults become more interested in keeping fit is a welcome transformation of their campaign.'

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